RBI Ombudsman received over 13 lac complaints in FY 2024-25, while complaints against private sector banks grew

 

The Reserve Bank's Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) received 13,34,244 complaints in FY 2024-25, up 13.55% from 11,75,075 in FY 2023-24. These Complaints were submitted by email, letter at the CRPC, or through the CMS portal. 

9,11,384 complaints were sent to the CRPC. Of these, 1,08,331 complaints were sent to the ORBIOs and 10,589 to CEPCs for processing. The remaining 7,76,336 were deemed non-maintainable or non-complaints. As of the end of FY 2024-25, 16,128 complaints were pending before the CRPC.

The ORBIOs received a total of 2,96,321 complaints in FY 2024-25, including 1,87,990 through the CMS portal and 1,08,331 recommended by the CRPC. This was a 0.82% rise from 2,93,924 complaints in FY 2023-24. Complaints received per lakh accounts at ORBIOs declined from 8.9 in FY 2023-24 to 7.7 in FY 2024-25 at the national level. 

Of the total complaints at ORBIOs, 91.22% were reported digitally through the CMS site or email. Individuals accounted for the highest share with 2,58,365 complaints (87.19%). Among categories, complaints relating to loans and advances were the greatest in FY 2024-25, followed by credit card complaints. Complaints involving mobile or electronic banking fell by 12.74% year-on-year.

With 2,41,601 cases, or 81.53% of all complaints received by the ORBIOs in FY 2024–2025, complaints against banks constituted the greatest share. NBFCs accounted for 43,864 complaints or 14.80%. 

Among banks, private sector banks received the most complaints, going from 34.39% in FY 2023-24 to 37.53% in FY 2024-25. The percentage of complaints against public sector banks decreased from 38.32% in FY 2023–2024 to 34.80% in FY 2024–2025.

In FY 2024–2025, the ORBIOs resolved 2,90,567 complaints, including ongoing cases, for a disposal rate of 93.07%. Of them, 1,80,621 complaints (62.16%) were manageable, while the rest were categorized as non-maintainable. Of the maintainable complaints, 43.36% were rejected and 51.91% were settled through conciliation, mediation, or mutual settlement. 

The Appellate Authority received 104 challenges against Ombudsman rulings during the year. Of these, 98 were submitted by complainants and 6 by regulated entities.

The Contact Centre (toll free: 14448) operating from Chandigarh, Kochi, and Bhubaneswar, it handled 9,27,598 calls in FY 2024-25, a rise of 28.89% from the previous year. Of these calls, 60.64% were handled through the IVRS system and 38.59% by staff. Abandoned calls dropped sharply to 0.78%. Hindi accounted for 70.43% of calls, English 6.73%, and 22.84% were in regional languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.